Drink driving and the law
There is no excuse for
drink driving
You may think you’re in control but any amount of
alcohol affects your ability to drive safely.
“I had a drink but it was at lunch time”
Even a small drink at lunchtime can make you more
sleepy and impair your driving.
The effects of alcohol on your driving can include:
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Slower reactions
Reduced field of vision
Poorer judgement of speed and distance
Overconfidence and increased risk taking, increasing the danger to all road users including yourself
If you are convicted of:
The maximum penalty is:
Causing death by careless
driving when under the
influence of drink or drugs.
14 years’ imprisonment, an
unlimited fine, disqualification
from driving for at least 2 years
and a mandatory extended
driving test.
Driving or attempting to drive
whilst above the legal limit*
or unfit through drink.
6 months imprisonment, a fine
of up to £5,000 and
disqualification from driving for
at least 12 months (3 years if
convicted twice in 10 years).
Being in charge of a vehicle
whilst above the legal limit*
or unfit through drink.
3 months imprisonment, a fine
of £2,500 and discretionary
disqualification from driving.
Refusing to provide a
specimen of breath, blood or
urine for analysis.
6 months imprisonment, a fine
of £5,000 and disqualification
from driving for at least
12 months.
“ I feel fine to drive”
Any amount of alcohol will affect your judgement.
“I’ve only had a couple”
Even a single drink will affect your driving performance.
“I had a meal”
Alcohol just takes a little longer to get into your system,
your driving will still be affected.
“I can handle my drink”
You may think you can handle your drink, but you will
have difficulty judging distance and speed.
Your reactions are slower, so it will take you longer
to stop.
How much
will your
next round
cost you?
“I’m only going down the road”
A large proportion of all drink drive crashes occur within
3 miles of the start of the journey.
“I’m driving slowly and carefully”
Alcohol actually makes you less alert.
*The legal alcohol limit for driving in the UK is 80 milligrammes of alcohol in
100 millilitres of blood
Published by the Departmart for Transport.
© Crown copyright July 2007
Printed in the UK July 2007
Paper comprising at least 75% recycled fibre. Prod code TINF1199
Don’t Drink and Drive
www.dft.gov.uk/think
Don’t Drink and Drive
What drink driving could cost you
It won’t happen to me
There’s always an alternative
• A court conviction
• A driving ban of at least 12 months
• An endorsement of your driving licence for 11 years
• A criminal record
Last year, around 100,000 drivers across the country
thought they could get away with drink driving.
Most drink drivers don’t plan to break the law. So to
make sure you don’t become another statistic, here are
several ways you can avoid drinking and driving:
If you get caught drink driving the consequences listed
above are the minimum that will happen to you.
You may also be liable to a fine of up to £5,000 and up
to 6 months in prison.
But nothing on that list reflects the everyday
consequences of being caught drink driving.
If you think you won’t get caught, you’re wrong.
The police are trained to spot all the tricks drink drivers
use to avoid being caught:
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They can ask you to take a breath test just for
suspecting you’ve been drinking or if you commit a traffic offence whilst driving
You don’t need to be involved in a crash
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Book a taxi. To make sure you get one, book it as early as you can in the evening
At the start of the night agree who’s driving and
not drinking
Use public transport routes to help you get home
If you’re at a friend’s house, stay overnight
Don’t get into a car driven by someone else who’s been drinking
To understand that, you’ll have to use your imagination.
So imagine for a moment relying on your friends and
family to drive you wherever you need to go:
And the morning after…
•Planning even the most basic trip to the cinema or shops around the local bus or
train schedule
• Having to sell your car to pay a hefty fine or just watching it rust away for 12 months
Don’t rush to get behind the wheel the morning after
you’ve been out drinking. You may feel fine but you
could still be over the legal alcohol limit* or unfit
to drive.
Now picture yourself having to find a new job.
Because without a licence you can’t drive to work,
or drive for work:
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A cold shower, a cup of coffee or any of the other
myths about ‘sobering up’ won’t make you fit to
drive any quicker. It just takes time to get the
alcohol out of your system.
Plenty of employers refuse to hire people with criminal records
How will it feel explaining the story of your criminal record at every job interview
you go to?
*The legal alcohol limit for driving in the UK is
80 milligrammes of alcohol in 100 millilitres of blood